Thoughts - 2010 Event Schedule

[bostondmd]

Bruce, thanks for the explanation, I know they let the Porsche club rent it for the whole day, but it is expensive......

BTW, how is NHMS track condition? I haven't been there in a couple of years, is it still a bit rough?

I have been to LRP, WGI, Tremblant, Calabogie, Summit and Thunderbolt, how does the track surface compare to these tracks?

The reason I am asking is because I just put a brand new suspension and alignment on my race car and my mechanic is afraid
that the rough transitions especially on turn 3, might throw the alignment off....

Thanks for any inputs.....

Paolo

[6PAK72]

For what it's worth, the 4/5 transition is far bumpier, and the TR6 I run held alignment with no trouble. I was not the fastest car there, though....1:36 was my unofficial, but still, I was riding right over the rumble strip and into the dip the way Stephan suggested.

The hardest landing on my suspension was the turn 10 dip. I never bottomed, but I can see how I could.

All that said, MT is like glass compared to NHMS.

[chaos4NH]

Bruce is right on. The distance to Mosport is what is killing us (same for Calabogie). I like about all the tracks we go to, but depite the hex put on me at Mont-Tremblant, it is my favorite. Distance to MT is not bad - 7 hours from Southern NH - and the area is beautiful. As for going there early in June, YES!!! That is the way to go to save $$$. I had a 5 star hotel 4 miles from the track, it had 2 separate bed rooms and baths, full kitchen, nice bar, 3 flat screen TV's, free WIFI, close to everything - price before June 18 was $89.99 + taxes - after June 18 it would have been nearly $300 per night and during ski season it runs $450 per night.
While I loved Calabogie (nice technical track and very smooth) it is another long drive from Southern NH - about 11 hours. Ditto for Mosport - about 11 hours.
Comments heard about Monticello (and they were desparate enough to offer the complete package - short course described as a slow NHMS - for only $7500 per day), the facilities are not up to our usual standards, i.e.: paved paddocks with water electric, etc.
Yes, as Mick said "pra for Palmer", and in the newly released 5 year plan, NHMS says a new road course is on the drawing board.
In conslusion, I would like to see a yearly like we had in 2006. Check the Results page to see where we ran that year.

[Barry]

This year was my second time at MT and watkins Glenn I would like to go back to both
next year if com goes Still learning to drive Barry #2 ST4http://www.comscc.org/forums/posting.php?mode=reply&f=9&t=2397#

[boltonite]

The BoD has been wrestling with "away" events for years, trying to make the #s work.The BoD agreed that away events need to be self-supporting, that we cannot in good conscience continue to subsidize all the away events on the back of NHMS participants. We need to make commitments to each track early in the season (actually beginning the year before) and then pray for turnout #s to avoid financial disaster. Many clubs have suffered huge losses ($10K - 30K) due to low attendance and such loses can literally bankrupt a nonprofit club like COM. Fwiw, I too like the 2005-2006 track schedule but not the financial fallout to the club.

The club president spent considerable time and effort on the 2009 track schedule, getting good dates and weekends well-spaced apart - no easy feat - with some hope we might add another venue to the schedule. We declined a last-minute, cut-rate offer from Monticello for a variety of reasons (not least of which was the short notice), and we let go of Mosport with great reluctance... those at the banquet may recall the 10-year Mosport Powerpoint slide: $ losses and low turnout. Most of us want Mosport back on the schedule, all of us want Mosport to be near break-even.

IMO Palmer will not be ready in 2010, so while we pray 4 palmer we plan for NHMS with as many "away" tracks as possible. If anyone has ideas about how to get the #s to work at Mosport, WGI, Mont Tremblant, LRP, NJMP, Summit Point, Pocono, Monticello, or Calabogie please share them here or with your club officers or better yet, attend a monthly meeting and enjoy the Yangtze River all-you-can-eat buffet (tip: come early to digest your food before the meeting starts!)

FF

[Dave_G]

If anyone has ideas about how to get the #s to work at Mosport, WGI, Mont Tremblant, LRP, NJMP, Summit Point, Pocono, Monticello, or Calabogie please share them here

I noticed that attendance at Mont Tremblant took a big dive this year. Some of that may be due to the economy, but I think a large part of it might also be due to the early June date. I know my family could not make it this year because of school still being in session, and I'm sure other people found themselves in the same boat. Coordinating an away event with people's summer vacation schedules seems like a possible way to improve attendance.

And just to re-flog a well-flogged horse, weekend dates would certainly get us more attendees too.

[mr2sc]

not being a regular, I'm ready to clam up if anyone feels I should butt out, but as far as I'm concerned, the best date for LCMT have always been the ones in mid~late August.

Besides having been a much better fit for me, I seem to recall attendance was better too. Am i wrong?

[6PAK72]

Seems to me the obvious: more cars = more cash = stability of events. Scheduling has to be part of it, both on season and for event-to-event travel. Cost has to be part of it, I think members' level of interest is part of the stew.

So what's the "pool" of drivers within a 6-hour drive of any track we want to run, how do we leverage COM's reputation with them and invite them to join in? Cross-membership? Regional dues-swap? Face-to-face? How about "Pop-ups" on other club's web sites - sign up for BMW run and a popup comes up for a non-competing date at COM, and we reverse it? Meet with the BOD's of the other clubs and, though complex, create an inter-weaving schedule so the Porsche guys get a pure-Porsche experience one time and a mixed-run another, etc?

It sounds like some of the above strategies scavenge from one group to another - they may as long as the driver pool stays the same. But if you can grow that pool through cross-marketing and catch the guy who was disappointed in the dates from BMW club but has enough interest to be on the site, then maybe we rejuvenate the pool.

I know that the non-profit BOD I serve on reaches out to every similar association in September, and executes a New-England-wide event plan so we don't overlap one another's critical events. It came out of a disaster 3 years ago where we all had our annual meeting on the same 2-day period. All of us lost money.

Just as a lark, I got up on FB and using the words "autocross, race car, drive fast, sports car, SCCA, BMW, F1" the ad placement interface gave me 400,000 FB users nationally, 7500 in a 50-mile radius of Boston, 2500 around Hartford, 5500 around NYC.

Facebook ad is CHEAP right now, and it's working for my B to B efforts, and my ad agency clients tell me i's pretty good for consumer and cause-related marketing. Maybe we need a CAM FB page, and drop $50 per month in ads?

Better minds than mine I'm sure have struggled over this.

[DanDarcy]

I invite every member to come to the monthly meetings. They are every third Wednesday of the month at the Yangtze River restaurant in Littleton, Ma. The general meeting starts about 6:30 to 7:00 followed by a board of directors meeting. Come early and have dinner. The board of directors tries to do what is best for the club and its members.Please voice your opinion and ideas, we want to hear them !

Remember this is not a business but YOUR CLUB, come and participate

Dan D'Arcy member board of directors COMSCC

[Dave_G]

I invite every member to come to the monthly meetings....Please voice your opinion and ideas, we want to hear them !

Yes, but not all of COM's members live in the Boston area. For those of us for whom the monthly meetings are "away" events, I hope the board takes our opinions on the forum as well as at the meetings!

[paultg]

I don't know all the details on the clubs expenses and such for events and do think the BOD has done an excellent job adjusting and being proactive with the 2009 schedule; providing more local events during these economic times.

In regards to away events (or events in general) has the board of directors considered:

1. Lower fee's for events to encourage more attendance
2. Securing group discount rates for local accommodations (hotel, food, fuel)
3. Marketing the events, looking into local businesses for support (sponsorship, group discounts, maybe provide advertisement on website and Drift)

I know it is easier said than done.

For me the costs of the away events (when all costs are considered) make the commitment much more complicated; there may be many potential participants discouraged in a similar way.

Paul G.

[brucesallen]

Jeff,
We need your help. Come to the Club meetings. Many of the things ou mentioned, but not all, have been discussed. Perhaps a much more aggressive Web approach is in order. Supporting what you say: A $30M software company I know spends 1.5% of sales on Google ads.

[91rs13]

Since I am Albany based, I started running the away events with COM. Then I really enjoyed the club and decided I need to run more COM events at NHMS ( Other issues in life have kept me away this year) -- But I would like to see WGI and MT stay on the schedule.

This year has been tough for events -- For Patroons WGI and Calabogie events ( shared with Ottawa BMW Club) --Both were full ( LRP always fills now) --But it was last minute in many cases. The Calabogie event did not have a lot of American support --mostly Canadians. Many other clubs are crying about low attendance and not filling events. I think it is more indicative of the economic conditions than anything else and people being selective about what events they go to.

As for Calabogie -- Jane told me they are renting the track to multiple clubs (2) --and just assigning run groups
( Think sharing LRP with "the club @ LRP" --rotating sessions) --So there may be a way for COM to go to these away events with the lower count --and just adjusting the run groups to accomodate.

[DanDarcy]

I'm not exactly close to the BOD meetings being almost 2 hours away, but I make almost every meeting.I won't be at the August meeting due to my vacation.
Some of the BOD members come down from Kennebunk Me. It is not just Boston area people.

I live closest to Lime Rock , less than 2 hours and consider NHMS an away event, about 3 hours for me. I try to do as many Com events as possible but have never been able to do Mt. Tremblant. I love WGI and Mosport and hope we can continue to do MT and WGI and in the future add more "away" events

The Board of Directors has been trying very hard to market and drive entrants to our events. Witness the new mentor program and the $100 discount plus the soon to be ride along program and the car show in Merrimack NH. Most ideas that members suggest are discussed and many are tried. We need more input from the membership and more help especially in marketing the away events.

Remember it is a club, your club, not a business, but we can't lose many thousands of dollars on away events and make up for it at the NHMS events.

I would hate to see the events held at NHMS and the new Palmer track only.